Jake Bain to be recognized prior to Feb. 6 game

ST. LOUIS - When St. Louis native Jake Bain came out, he didn't expect the buzz it would create to become a symbol for LGBTQ pride, and he definitely didn't expect to be recognized prior to a St. Louis Blues game on their second annual Pride Night.
In the summer of 2016, before his junior year of high school, Bain came out to his friends and family. The next year, he shared his story with all of John Burroughs High School when he gave a speech at a school assembly.

As the leader of Spectrum, a John Burroughs club for diversity awareness, Bain wanted to do something special for National Coming Out Week. By sharing his story, Bain's speech empowered a multitude of students at his school.
What Bain didn't expect was to have the opportunity to empower so many others in St. Louis.
"My goal was never to draw attention to myself," Bain said. "My goal has always been to show the generation of kids that come after me that it's okay to be whoever you want to be."
Bain will be recognized before Tuesday's game when the Blues take on the Minnesota Wild.
The Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis, "an inclusive, welcoming, Christ-centered congregation made up of diverse people: black, white, gay, straight, cisgender, transgender, Christian, agnostic, Jewish and more," will kick off the Blues' second annual Pride Night as the choir performs the national anthem.
Before the game, fans can expect to see a variety of rainbow items for sale on the Scottrade Center concourse. Profits from rainbow flags being sold will benefit Pride STL and their annual pride fest. Rainbow beads will also be sold to benefit Pride STL and You Can Play, an organization that aims to get rid of homophobia in athletics.
Proud Larry will also be playing rock songs from LGBTQ artists before and during the game. Fan can also expect an appearance in the colorguard from Team USA's Makenna Webster. Members of Blues Special Hockey, Blues Blind Hockey and Inner City Street Hockey will also make appearances at the event.
While Bain is excited to be so close to the Blues players he loves to watch, being a part of Blues Pride Night is about much more than that.
"It's about being able to be someone who people can look at and see that it's okay to be who you want to be," Bain said. "I think it's great that the Blues are doing this. To a lot of younger kids like me, athletes and non-athletes, Blues players are the ones they look up to. They are their heroes. I think it's great for everybody to see that the Blues are taking strides to increase awareness and increase support for everyone in the LGBT community."
Tickets for the game can be
purchased online at ticketmaster.com
. Fans who purchase a special theme night ticket package can use promocode PRIDE18 to receive a rainbow-style Blues baseball cap. To purchase the theme night package,
click here
.